1. Field of the Invention
Applicant""s invention relates to a hanging apparatus for attaching objects to fabric covered walls or furniture. More specifically, the present invention relates to a hanging apparatus used on modular office systems furniture, sofas, chairs, vehicle seats, and sun visors.
2. Background Information
Hanging objects, particularly picture frames, on fabric-covered walls or furniture is difficult with prior art hangers because existing hangers do not securely attach to both the fabric exterior surface and the inner core material of the wall or furniture. Additionally with the prior art, hanging forces are not dispersed into multiple angles of incidence to the wall or furniture, nor are they supported by multiple or dispersed penetration points into the wall or furniture. These dispersion problems with the prior art cause the prior art fabric-covered wall and furniture hangers to pull the fabric exterior surface away from the inner core material and/or cause a sagging condition in the fabric.
Picture hangers have formerly attained commercial success by fastening securely to the inner surface of a wall or object without unduly damaging its exterior surface. However, these devices developed to secure objects to soft wall surfaces do not mitigate the hazard of surface tearing because they may detach from a wall""s inner core material and hang on the fabric exterior surface causing it to rip. Additionally these prior art hangers do not provide adequate support for heavier objects. All hanging object weight in the prior art is distributed solely onto the fabric exterior surface and the weight is centralized at only one or two penetration points. Accordingly, the weight bearing capacity of the prior art is low and the possibility of damaging the fabric exterior surface in the prior art is high.
Pins are also known in the prior art that can pierce fabric. These pins have a wire bend protruding from the fabric for hanging objects. Prior art also contains plastic plates with long wire pins that attach to the surface material of a fabric-covered wall with a hook molded onto the plastic. The present invention has an entirely different design consisting of a prong which is hinged and cantilevered with a range of uses including attachment to plaques or pictures. The prior art hooks are not applicable to plaques or pictures because they are too wide to insert into the hole drilled into the plaque or picture backing. Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,788 issued to Hoskinson, et al and U.S. Pat. No. 4,664,350 issued to Dodds, et al are specifically designed to attach to the surface only with two or less entry points without hinges or levers to increase adhesion when weight on the hanger is increased. These prior art inventions still do not solve the problems that exist with attaching a hanging device to a fabric covered wall or furniture. The present invention; however, does solve these problems.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel hanger that can be attached to fabric-covered surfaces without pulling the fabric exterior surface away from the inner core material.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novel hanger that can be attached to fabric-covered surfaces without causing sagging.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel hanger that can be attached to fabric-covered surfaces without ripping the fabric exterior surface.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a novel hanger that binds to both the inner core material and the fabric exterior surface of fabric-covered surfaces.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novel hanger that can be attached quickly and safely by first time users with little or no instruction.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a novel hanger that securely attaches to both the inner core material and fabric exterior surface while providing the maximum amount of protection to the fabric exterior surface.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novel hanger whereby the hanging forces are imparted mostly to the inner core material by piercing the inner core material in a perpendicular plane with hinge pins while lower pins are used to penetrate the fabric exterior surface and distribute force in another plane perpendicular to the first thereby preventing movement of the present hanger.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel hanger that creates more piercing force to the inner core material when more weight is added to the prong.
In satisfaction of these and related objectives, Applicant""s present invention provides for a hanger having a fixed pin assembly and a hinged pin assembly. Left and right vertical portions of fixed pin assembly are used to pin the hanger into the inner core of the applicable fabric-covered wall or furniture. Once the left and right vertical portions are inserted, the hinged pin assembly will rotate freely allowing the left and right lower angled portion to penetrate the fabric exterior surface and the inner core. At the central portion of the hinged pin assembly is a prong.